The Seventh Year
by Conterra-san
Summary: Hogwarts is about to witness a very odd year; many students who did not graduate due to the war are returning to complete their seventh year. The Head Girl will have her hands full with the Slytherins, or, at least, with one Slytherin in particular.
1. The Twins and the Gits

Disclaimer: Not JKR.

A/N: So. Before you dive into this story, I have a warning and two explanations.

WARNING: This fic leans quite a bit on OCs that are students at Hogwarts in the year behind the Golden Trio. However, it is DH compliant and all canon pairings are intact aside from Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass.

Explanation One: This fic was a birthday present for my roommate, which explains the large number of OCs (there are several of them, seven-ish to be exact, but regular characters have good-sized roles too) and why I am writing a Harry Potter fic (I don't write Harry Potter fics, although I read them extensively).

Explanation Two: The idea for this fic came out of a post-canon thought which was: _The Trio never finished school. Would they (at least Hermione) go back? _This idea sparked this unorthodox fic, which centers around the, as I realized, "lost," seventh years, the group of students that were the year behind the Trio. Besides Ginny and Luna, there are literally no other female students mentioned that exist in that year. So based on the premise that each house has at least three females per year, my OCs merely fill in the gaps around Ginny and Luna. . .and so The Seventh Year was born.

I am so excited to begin this project, and happy reading!

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 1**

**The Twins and the Gits**

The halls of Hogwarts were quiet in the wee hours of the morning, moonlight drifting peacefully through the long, narrow windows to play on the flagstones below. The castle had been deftly patched up after the finality of the Second Wizarding War during the summer and had been patiently waiting for students to come back to its ageless corridors. Now, on the eve of September the first, it seemed as though the entire school was holding its breath in anticipation for the new, and probably strange, year.

There would be two seventh year classes; the sixth years from last year and any of the seventh years from the year previous who wished to actually graduate from their beloved almost alma mater. All that was truly known about the returning seventh years was that Harry Potter would not be back as a full time student. Although he had been awarded honorary graduate status, he would be coming back periodically to take special classes and participate in house activities. No one knew how often he would be at the school, only that the hero had retreated to (alternatively) the Burrow and 13 Grimmauld Place for some much needed rest. The other two-thirds of the Golden Trio were said to be returning.

And of course there would be the incoming seventh years—they included some very rambunctious individuals. It would be an interesting year.

An interesting year indeed.

-v-v-v-

"Who do you think will be back?" a girl with dark brown hair and eyes asked, grinning at a petite Asian girl who could not get her hair to lie flat.

The girl continued to struggle with her hair, so Ginny Weasley replied instead. "Well, I know Harry will be visiting as frequently as possible. He just isn't staying on full time."

"That's bloody brilliant," the first girl exclaimed, her eyes dancing. "I wish I could stay on half-board. Think about all the things we could get into if we only had to attend school partially, Marisa."

Her twin glanced up from an intricate manual entitled _Alchemy, Chemistry, and Potion Making: A Study of the Advances in the 19__th__ Century_ and beamed a sly grin. "Yeah, we could actually _go_ to the Amazon instead of bringing it to Hogwarts."

The Asian girl turned pink and tittered nervously. "Amazon? Why are we talking about the Amazon?"

Luna Lovegood smiled dreamily. "You did look quite good with that boa constrictor as a belt, Natalie. It was quite interesting really, I don't know why you started shrieking when I complimented you on it."

Marisa and her twin Erin high-fived and collapsed into helpless laughter.

"You two could at least try to be nicer," Hermione told them, but a smile was tugging at her lips. "If you aren't careful, I'll have to take points."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever 'Mione," Erin brushed her half-hearted threat aside. "You being our guardian Prefect was the best thing that ever happened to us."

"Where's Ron, anyway?" the other Gryffindor girl in the compartment asked. Like the twins and Natalie, who was still fighting a losing battle with her hair, she was an incoming seventh year with Ginny and Luna.

Hermione calmly flicked a page in the book she was reading (_The Heroes of the First Wizarding War_). "I told him to go catch up with his mates."

"Nice. You show him who is boss, girl," her fellow housemate grinned.

"Don't be ridiculous, Sophie," the older girl replied crisply.

"We all know you two are an item now," Erin teased.

"Finally," Marisa added, turning back to her book.

Hermione was spared her retort when the door to the compartment banged open and the Boy-Who-Lived appeared in all his questionable glory—his robes were definitely muddy, but the grin on his face was undeniably genuine and carefree.

"Harry!" Ginny shrieked, jumping up to clobber her boyfriend.

The twins rolled their eyes. "Get a room," they chorused.

Hermione gave them an amused look. "What did I tell you two about being—hey!" She reached over and snatched Marisa's wand from her side where she had been turning it slowly and inconspicuously.

Natalie's hair immediately fell back into an orderly sheaf upon her head.

Erin began laughing hysterically and high-fived a manically grinning Marisa.

"Hey!" Natalie grinned triumphantly. "The flattening charm worked!"

The twins bent over in a fresh wave of giggles.

Harry swept in to wedge himself between Hermione and his girlfriend. He dropped an affectionate kiss on his best friend's forehead before asking, "Where's Ron?"

"Catching up with your mates," the twins told him.

"Hullo," he nodded to the two Ravenclaws and the others in the compartment. There was a general clamor of greetings for the bespectacled boy. "Luna! When will the Quibbler be running again?"

"Daddy is working on the next issue as we speak. There is going to be a full-color insert about nargles, isn't that lovely?"

Harry's eyebrow twitched. "I can't wait to read it," he told her blandly. "Alright there, Nat?"

"Just fine, Harry," she beamed, putting away her mirror and not seeming to notice that her hair had sprung up again. Marisa smirked and high-fived Erin again. "Mum's been healing nicely, thanks to you."

He blushed. "Right, don't mention it. . ."

"Gin didn't think you'd be back right away," Sophie told him. "What gives?"

"Change of plans. I should be around for at least a few weeks. Maybe just to keep the returning Slytherins in line. . ."

"Oh, they aren't all that bad," Erin murmured.

"Cat's alright," Marisa added, although it was obvious that she was biting her tongue about the rest of the Slytherin house.

"Which means she's awesome," Sophie told Harry. "And our friend Jin is pretty cool too. Maybe it's just us girls that can get along."

Hermione snorted. "Tell that to Parkinson."

"Parkinson's a girl?" Ginny quipped.

General laughter ensued, until Natalie shrieked, realizing her hair was standing on end. "Will you stop it?" Hermione hissed, this time grabbing at Erin's wand. Natalie's hair flattened before Hermione actually took her wand, and Erin quickly summoned Marisa's ash and dragon-heartstring combo back from the Gryffindor, who just let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll come back for you later, Gin," Harry said, standing up to yawn and stretch. "I have to go find Ron. Lovely seeing you all."

"Bye, Harry!"

"Sweet Merlin, at least Romilda wasn't here to see him," Sophie muttered. "I feel like we're the only ones with our heads on straight."

"Only because he's dating Ginny," Erin grinned. "If he were single—"

"Oh, come off it, E," the red-head teased. "We all know you only go for blonde blokes."

"Speaking of which," Luna murmured, scratching the glass of the compartment thoughtful with the end of an oddly colored quill, "here comes one now."

Erin suddenly stiffened in her seat and traded an inexplicable look with Hermione. Sure enough, stalking regally down the hallway was the blond devil's spawn of Hogwarts: Draco Malfoy himself, closely followed by several other Slytherin cronies.

He wasn't wearing robes, but his expensive Armani suit was enough to turn heads. "I didn't think he was going to come back," Hermione whispered to the others.

"He doesn't have much to be ashamed of," Ginny hissed back. "His mum saved Harry, and he did sort of quit the whole Death Eater gig at the end there—"

"He _was_ a Death Eater though!" Hermione told her, "I mean, I am all for the rehabilitation programs the Ministry are coming up with, but he—"

"—won't have changed," Sophie told her heatedly. "At least not outwardly, not at first."

"I suspect he's always been a mass of insecurities, and now he is finally free," Erin agreed.

"Oh hello, Blaise," Luna hummed.

The girls all looked up, a bit surprised, to see that Blaise and Draco had stopped and barged into their compartment to lean nonchalantly on the glass, sporting twin smirks.

"Loony," Blaise nodded, grinning. "How was summer?"

"Better than expected, thank you. Especially since father will be well enough to go hunting for Crumple-Horned Snorcacks again soon. How is your mother, is she out of St. Mungo's?"

"Beaver," Malfoy interrupted with a smirk.

"Ferret," Hermione acknowledged calmly, turning another page in her book with obvious indifference.

"The old bat is letting me keep my Head Boy status. Says it will be good for my character. Did you hear?"

"Now I have," she murmured.

"Thought she would've given you Head Girl."

"I told her I wouldn't do it," Hermione replied, still with almost goddess-like composure. "That she needed one of the regular seventh years."

Erin was hiding behind Marisa's book, and Marisa's arms were crossed, glaring at the gorgeous pair of Slytherins.

"Oh, then she must have picked you, Benz," Draco drawled, turning to stare at the twins.

"Get lost, ferret-face," Marisa growled.

"I meant the other one, the nicer one," Draco sneered.

"Don't have the foggiest idea of what you are going on about, Malfoy," Erin told him airily, but the book was still in front of her face.

"What are you doing in here, ink-arm?" Marisa shot at the other boy.

"Calm down, Benz-Deux," Blaise said lazily. "Tattoos aren't a crime."

"If they make you a brain-washed git, they are!" Sophie snapped, putting a hand on Marisa's shoulder.

"A stupid mark on my arm does not make me a git," Blaise shrugged lazily.

"A stupid mark on your face wouldn't make me a git either," Marisa jumped up, raising her fist.

"You think you could take me, princess?"

"Arsehole, how many times do I have to tell you? Black belt. Karate. I could kick your arse."

"And I've got your wand," Erin added, still not looking up from her sister's book but twirling said object nonchalantly around her fingers. She'd really only taken in to stop her sister from hurting Blaise. Again. Erin knew Marisa would at least feel sort of sorry about it later.

"So you're going to let your sister get away with everything? Nice," Malfoy purred, staring down at the Ravenclaw. "That gives me just as much leeway with my mates."

Zabini was backing out of the carriage. "This isn't over, Benz-Deux," he grinned wolfishly. "See you later, losers. Loony."

"Bye, Blaise!" Luna said brightly.

"That bloody sodding coward—"

Erin and Sophie caught Marisa and made her sit down. "I don't know what you're talking about," Erin told the Malfoy heir casually. "I've never let her get away with anything—not without my help. I don't intend to let that change. You watch your back, Malfoy."

He calmly took Blaise's wand from between her fingers and leaned in close to make his point, his expensive cologne distracting her for just a moment. "I'll wait until we're in our new living quarters—alone, Benz. Then we'll see if you can withstand me."

The door snapped shut and the only noise in the compartment was Hermione turning another page. Erin let out an explosive breath and threw _Alchemy, Chemistry, and Potion Making: A Study of the Advances in the 19__th__ Century_ at the window.

"Bloody hell!" Marisa yelped.

"Thanks a lot, Hermione," Erin slumped against the bench. "This is just bleeding brill. Now not only do I have to sort of behave, but I'm stuck with Malfoy."

"Don't you have a meeting you are supposed to be attending?" Hermione asked, a slight smile curving her lips.

"Not going," Erin groused.

"Half of us are prefects, we'll go with you," Sophie said encouragingly. "It won't be that bad."

"Why'd McGonagall pick you anyway?" Marisa smirked.

"Shut up," she mumbled. "I'm responsible. And I can actually speak with people, unlike you."

"I don't want to speak with people."

"Exactly. And I'm actually good at speaking with people, and getting them to listen. And with helping them."

Marisa snorted. Erin hit her. "You're alright," Marisa mumbled.

Hermione laughed. "We should go to that meeting now, Benz."

"Here's your book," Marisa said casually.

Hermione looked down at the book in her hands and glared, snatching back _The Heroes of the First Wizarding War_. "I was wondering why I was suddenly reading about the secret torrid affair of Dumbledore and Grindlewalt!"

Erin high-fived Marisa. Again. Practically nothing was going to change this year.

A/N: I will be updating every Wednesday and Saturday, and it is already written so this promise will be kept. Most of the chapters will be shorter than this one, but worthwhile XD. Thanks for reading!


	2. The Heads and the Change of Character

A/N: This chapter is decent-sized in length, but, as I warned, the subsequent chapters will be a little shorter. Happy reading XD

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 2**

**The Heads and the Change of Character**

The meeting went off with barely a hitch (Marisa managed to change the color of McGonagall's hair half-way through the meeting, but got away) and the group had separated out into their respective house tables. Erin blew a kiss to her friends Cat and Jin at the Slytherin table and shouted a promise to catch up later before sitting down with Luna and her sister at the Ravenclaw table.

The feast passed in a blur for everyone, the only noticeable part being McGonagall announcing Draco and Erin as Heads.

There was much laughter and applause, because even though Draco wasn't as much liked as obsessed over by many girls, Erin _was_ well liked. Though no one had quite expected her to get Head Girl, Hermione _had_ come back this year after all, the students obviously approved.

Unfortunately, this also meant they two of them had to get up and walk to the teacher's table, and she shot a glare at the blonde, wishing for a moment that looks could kill.

Her look could not kill, but apparently it could cause Malfoy's shoelaces to tie together, and he tripped, nearly falling, but he somehow caught himself with his inborn, inhumane grace. Assuming a regal air and completely suppressing the smirk that was threatening to spread across her face, she reached McGonagall well before the ferret did.

"Ms. Benzene," Professor McGonagall said sternly, in a voice low enough for only her to here. "I expect you to be an example this year, and I certainly hope that Mr. Malfoy's misfortune has nothing to do with you."

Draco was now struggling valiantly with the sleeves of his robes, which appeared to be adhering to each other as he continued towards the Headmistress and the Head Girl. "I'd never, Professor," she said quite sincerely. Then she checked her pockets, before groaning. "And besides, Marisa nicked my wand."

Marisa deftly twirled both wands above her head, her grin mocking as Erin glowered at her, and she earning a glare from McGonagall as well as several titters from the crowd. "You realize that could implicate your sister's involvement, correct?"

"That's impossible, Professor," she said innocently, quickly dropping the scowl. "Marisa promised to give me and _Draco_ a fighting chance at getting along, despite her obvious reservations toward the matter."

McGonagall gave her a very hard look, but she could hardly reprimand the Head Girl _she_ had appointed in front of the entire student body practically right before the semester began. "Very well, Benzene, but I _will_ be keeping a close eye on you. Mr. Malfoy, _do_ counter that ridiculous charm."

Malfoy had pulled his wand from his sleeve and he deftly cancelled the adherence charm. "I'm sorry, Professor, it seems as though my anti-static charm reversed itself. I'll be more careful in the future."

Erin gave him an incredulous look while McGonagall wasn't looking at her. Was Malfoy, Draco sodding Malfoy, _covering_ for her? Or Marisa, but whatever, _covering_ for her?

He smirked at her, and she felt the all-too familiar fluttering somewhere in her chest. This was definitely not good. She'd expected Malfoy to be as obnoxious as he had been last year so that they could continue their strangely balanced relationship of occasional camaraderie and frequent hatred. Although at the end of last year he had leaned more towards camaraderie, which unnerved her in ways she didn't want to think about, she had just thought that with the pressures of the war gone, things would return to normal and she wouldn't have to deal with the startling feelings again.

McGonagall was telling them something, but she was still scrutinizing Malfoy and he was clearly sizing her up. She didn't like the way his smirk was growing.

He smiled brilliantly then, explaining to McGonagall that he was going to be an excellent example for the students and that of course his past sentiments had changed, for why would she have let him be Head Boy again if they hadn't changed? She was so dazzled by his grin, that she barely heard him say that he was positive that Erin Benzene would be the perfect complement to his leadership and that she was not only an outstanding student but a warm and caring person, an excellent choice for Head Girl.

She was unfortunately speechless as the students began clapping and cheering again, and McGonagall motioned for them to acknowledge their peers' approval. Erin turned and smiled sweetly at the congregation, waving nonchalantly, primarily at the Slytherin table, which elicited some laughter. "What was that?" she hissed from between her teeth.

Draco put an arm around her shoulders casually, which made her jump, and raised one arm in a very rock star-esque sort of wave. "Whatever do you mean, Benz?" he murmured, also clearly through his teeth.

"Taking a hit for Marisa like that!" she shrugged him off, smiled politely at McGonagall, and gracefully stepped down from the teacher's dais.

He followed her, but dropped his unusual smile for his normal sneer. "Oh, so it _was_ Benz Two?"

"I can only assume, you git, who else would you expect?"

"Who knows, maybe it was Blaise and I was taking a hit for him?"

She stopped before her seat and glared at him. "Whatever you are doing, Malfoy, stop."

"We can continue this delightful conversation when McGonagall shows us our dorm," he smirked. "You were listening to her, weren't you?"

"What—" she gasped but he returned to the Slytherin table. She spun to plop herself down on her bench again. "What did that mean?" she growled.

Marisa shrugged, an evil grin on her face. "I dunno, maybe that you two are actually sharing the Heads Dorm?"

She gasped. "I thought that was joke!"

Marisa snickered, and ignored her sister. "Oi, Boot, pass some of those chips down here, won't you?"

Terry Boot sneered at her in a way that was oddly reminiscent of Draco Malfoy, but passed the chips. "Yeah, and you're welcome, Benzene."

"Whatever," Marisa waved him off.

"He still has a thing for you?" Erin hissed, momentarily distracted by the look on their blond housemate's face.

"I don't know," Marisa shrugged. "Why would I care?

"That's awful, and I still want to know what I missed about the whole Heads Dorm thing."

"Don't you get it?" Marisa snickered again. "You and ferret have to share a bathroom. And a portrait hole. And a common room. And—"

"Yes, yes, alright, _thank you_," Erin stood up again as her plate cleared. "What am I supposed to do now? And can you move in with me please?"

"Absolutely not," Marisa refused.

"Please please please?" Erin begged.

This went back in forth for the entire trek to the Ravenclaw Tower with the First Years. "No, and go find McGonagall," Marisa finally said. "I'll come by later."

"Promise!"

"Yeah, sure, ok?"

Erin only had to retrace her steps a short distance before she ran into Malfoy and the Head Mistress.

She half-listened to McGonagall droning on about different rules and regulations, the rules of the Head's Dorm, and what she expected out of them this year. She made some veiled references to the war, patted Malfoy awkwardly on the back when she mentioned the loss of loved ones, and said that it would be up to the two of them to smooth over the still healing wounds that the final battle had left on many of the students.

And then all of a sudden she was gone, and Erin was left alone with Malfoy, who was staring at the portrait who was to guard their dorm. She shook herself to wake up a bit, and focused on the painting, which was of a young woman calmly reading a book. "You need to set the password," she remarked.

There was an awkward silence before Erin realized that something McGonagall had told them had struck her and she abruptly said, although she hated saying sorry when it was so generic and unhelpful, "Sorry, by the way, about, you know. . ."

There was another pause, and Erin was reminded of the occasions when Malfoy and her had talked seriously with each, when they had pretended that they didn't hate each other. She felt she owed him some sort of condolence for the sake of that weird aspect of their. . .enemyship.

"He always liked you, Benz," Malfoy said drily. "I'm sure he would have appreciated your heartfelt—"

"I wasn't crying," she flared, trying not to remember that day, and how she had seen Professor Snape's body and sort of. . .well, lost it. "I just wanted to tell you that you aren't the only one who will miss him, that's all. And that you should be proud, because he was. . .great. He was a really good and amazing person."

"Of course I know that, he wouldn't have been my godfather otherwise," Malfoy tossed out indifferently, but she could tell he appreciated what she had said. "Should we pick a password?"

"Name a subject," she demanded, quickly maneuvering away from what might have been another awkward silence or a shouting match.

He raised an eyebrow, but returned with the obvious response: "Potions."

"Name a letter," she demanded again.

He sighed, clearly humoring her. "A."

"Do you know any potions that start with—"

"Amortentia," he interrupted, a bit smugly.

The girl in the portrait nodded and smiled, but didn't look up from her book. "Welcome," she said, and the portrait swung open.

"What does it smell like to you?" she asked, even more abruptly this time, knowing that now she was just being obnoxious and realizing that living with Malfoy was going to make it a lot easier for her to annoy him.

"I'm not telling you that," he said flatly, stepping through the portrait hole.

"Fine, if you had some, what would you do with it?"

He was silent for a moment, and then said, quite confusingly, "I think I would drink it."

Erin made a face. "What? Why?"

He looked back at her, an infuriatingly smug look on his face. "I'd have to trick you into giving it to me, though, so that would be somewhat tiresome. Night, Benz."

She didn't have to smother her baffled expression, because he headed straight for his door and disappeared.

Having Malfoy following her around under the effects of a love potion would be the most annoying thing he could ever do, more annoying than anything even _she _could conjure up, so his thought process was sound there. However, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt like something was wrong.

She felt like their enemyship was changing, and she didn't know what he was playing at, but she was going to put an end to it.

As soon as possible.

A/N: My new favorite word is enemyship. Please review, I could use some encouragement and feedback!


	3. The Sign and the Declaration of War

A/N: This chapter is short, but the next one is at least twice as long, promise.

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 3**

**The Sign and the Declaration of War**

THIS ROOM THE PROPERTY OF BENZ SQUARED.

Draco glared at this blazing sign partially obscuring the portrait leading to the shared head common room. Erin and Marisa had been subtly pranking him left and right for the past month or so, without reprieve. He was surprised that this sign hadn't gone up sooner.

His words on the Hogwarts Express had been harsher than he intended, but he had made up for it that night at the feast and then when they had arrived at their dorm. She had been shocked and he had been shocked because he hadn't expected one of his and Erin's peaceful moments to come upon them so suddenly and so easily. Those moments were rare. Not that he disliked them, they were just rare. Normally he was a snarky git, which was something he was good at, and she was a sarcastic fireball, which was something she was good at.

But after a bit of a rough summer, a lot of things had changed. His world had changed. His family had changed. He had changed.

He hadn't had to change as much as some people had thought, though.

He was sure that he could continue being himself, even after most of his fundamental beliefs had been debunked. His godfather had quietly taught him the opposite of everything his father had ever told him, so it hadn't been so hard, but losing his godfather had been.

In fact, losing his godfather had been very hard. But Severus had warned him. And after the long weeks of reflection, everything had clicked into place.

He was finally allowed to let go of all the nonsense that hadn't exactly made sense. _That_ had caused a radical shift in his consciousness. He didn't need to hide from his father or the Dark Lord anymore. He didn't have to pretend to be a cold-hearted bastard. He could just be a bastard who had definite feelings poking through his bastardness, which was what he definitely preferred. It was much less work.

In any case, things had changed. And he had decided, right before coming back, that he wanted to change his relationship with his not-quite-friend Erin Benzene as well.

He'd have to be careful, however, but he had known that when he had made his decision. Erin was smart, and she was cautious. Her strange sort of support and caustic remarks last year were very much appreciated and very much needed at times when he didn't think he could pretend anymore, or he would explode.

In those weeks of reflection, after the world had seemed to end and then had risen like the phoenix from the ashes, he had realized he missed her. After he saw her crying in the Great Hall, very near to his godfather, he hadn't let himself do more than rub her back before walking away, because he figured he would break down too, and he wanted to do that in private. He had missed her when they stopped talking a few weeks before the Battle of Hogwarts, and he had missed her after she had appeared to help him get away from a couple of Death Eaters and then quickly disappeared again.

That was when he realized that he was in trouble.

And he knew she wouldn't trust him if he messed up, even if it was just once. At least, that is what he told himself, because he really did think he only had one chance.

So he was enduring these ridiculous attempts at agitating him. And he knew it was starting to get to her.

He had never been good at unending patience, and she knew that. She was very skilled at aggravating him. But he was suddenly able to tolerate her antics, because he knew it was worth it. But it was still difficult, so difficult, like yesterday, in the dungeons. . .

_Draco's cauldron was heating up and his potion was starting to smoke ominously for no apparent reason. He jumped back quickly, hurriedly attempting a counter-curse or anything else that would be a help to him, but to no avail. He managed to just clear the flames as the cauldron exploded, and he shielded his eyes. Thankfully his potion had not been flung across the room, merely incinerated. He refrained from throwing a dirty look at the Benzene twins, who were unsuccessfully hiding their smirks and laughter. He took a deep, steadying breath and forced himself to calm down, to look merely perplexed and completely unruffled._

_After apologizing to Slughorn and convincing the professor to let Blaise share his cauldron with him, he calmly finished off the assignment and began to put his things away, his senses on high alert for either of the twins. _

_He was not disappointed. As he was replacing his mint leaves in the cupboard, Erin brushed by and murmured, "Having some problems managing your potions, Malfoy?" _

_"Accidentally set off an Incendio Charm, I think," he replied calmly, ignoring how his whole body was tingling, and how he felt as if being near the Head Girl was some sort of adrenaline rush._

_He turned to catch her gaping at him in shock, and he smirked, shrugging slightly. "Too bad really," he added, before deliberately sliding closer and leaning over her to replace the last of his porcupine quills. _

_"A shame," she managed to get out. "Normally you're so controlled." _

_He leaned back slightly, his whole body tensing, as if ready to spring. He just couldn't help but tease her when she was so close to him, it was too tempting. He smirked, "Control be damned when you're in the room." _

_"What is that supposed to mean, Malfoy," Erin growled, trying to move past him. _

_He slammed one hand into the wall next to her shoulder, preventing her from leaving. "My cauldron wasn't the only thing in the room that was on fire, if you catch my drift." _

_He had to restrain himself from brushing back her hair, or caressing her cheek, or moving any closer to her. There was a moment as he stared hungrily into her eyes, all of his emotions bare, a moment that hung in the balance as he contemplated devouring her with all of his passion or leaving her to languish, leaving her because there would be time enough for him to get what he wanted, eventually. He made the right decision with great difficulty, and pulled back, leaving her with a dangerously heated glare. He walked away, leaving a very bewildered and flushed Erin Benzene behind. _

He would have to be even more careful in the future, if he was going to get his one chance.

He drew his wand and carefully moved the banner out of the way before giving the password (damn Amortentia, he should have picked _anything_ else, something that didn't remind him of Erin, but then again, what didn't remind him of Erin?) and proceeding into his—not the Ravenclaw twins'—common room.

There was no sign of the so-called Benz Squared, and he made it to the door that opened up to his staircase before seeing anymore graffiti. But when he opened that door he saw, plastered in neat columns on his door, walls, and stairs, little Benz Squared logos with lovely slogans to match, proclaiming the superiority and reigning authority of the twins. All with Semi-Permanent Sticking Charms too, so they wouldn't be coming down for a while.

Draco just stared in shock for a moment, confused as to how they had pulled this off in the short amount of time they had had between classes and his absence.

Impressive.

He stood for a moment, deep in thought. Then, with a wolfish grin, he darted into his room to grab a thick, leather binder. He opened it briefly, and was immediately satisfied by what he found there. He was suddenly very grateful for his mother's impulsive scrapbooking.

He bounded down the stairs, across the common room to the Head Girl's door, and easily evaded her half-hearted charm work so that within minutes he was standing in the middle of Erin's, and now Marisa's, bedroom. Although this presented numerous opportunities for a hormone ridden male, he reminded himself that he had One Chance. He buckled down to his task, ignoring any distractions that the room might have offered, and it didn't take him long to find what he was looking for: a photo album, containing all kinds of pictures of her and her friends. Obviously not made by her, because she wasn't organized enough or conscientious enough.

Marisa didn't like pictures, so this must have been made by their mother. Draco found that ironic for some reason. He didn't know how much time he had before the twins came back, so he opened his leather scrapbook and began muttering spells under his breath.

This was a war, and he intended to win.

A/N: A weird and brief interlude into the mind of Draco Malfoy. Cherish it, it may never happen again XP.


	4. The Gossip and the Ravenclaw Operation

A/N: Forgot to post yesterday! Probably on the account of lack of reviews. . .(hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink XP).

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 4**

**The Gossip and the Ravenclaw Operation**

"Ferret has been quiet," Marisa stated as she and her friends lounged in the privacy of one of the Slytherin girls' dorm rooms.

"Too quiet, if you ask me," Erin muttered, scribbling the last answers onto her Transfiguration homework. "Merlin's beard, he has to be up to bleeding _something_, or he's. . .gone soft?"

Marisa snorted. "He's an arsehole."

"Which doesn't make sense in the current situation!" Erin hissed. "Because he _isn't_ being an arsehole, or haven't you noticed?"

"I've noticed!" Cat chimed in, her facing lighting up as she waved her finger triumphantly in the air. The twins turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "Well, besides me, I mean some of the other Slytherins have noticed."

The other Slytherin that lived in the room along with Davia Montague and Rayann Pucey looked up minutely from her work, and then glanced back down. "Huh? What are you talking about Cat?"

"Malfoy, Jin. Malfoy." Cat shook her head at her diligent roommate. Susie Jin took ambition to a whole new level. She was just like Hermione in that she threw herself into her schoolwork and never looked back.

"Oh!" Jin bolted upright. "Yes! Draco has been a bit. . .odd lately. Blaise said so."

"She would know," Cat claimed, and correctly. Jin and Blaise were cousins, and Jin was quite close with Blaise. "Anyway, yesterday I heard them talking in the common room."

"Draco and Blaise always talk in the common room," Jin mumbled, going back to her work.

"They talk in our common room sometimes," Erin said, exchanging a look with Marisa. "Isn't that a novelty?"

"It isn't really your common room," Sophie laughed, looking up from the chess game she was engaged in with Ginny.

"We all know Marisa lives there too. It is just a matter of time before McGonagall makes it official." Which was true, because the twins had magically enlarged Erin's bedroom and stored all of Marisa's things from the Ravenclaw dorm room (including the bed) there. They invented a few tricky spells to conceal all of it from McGonagall when she demanded to know why Ms. Benzene's things were mysteriously missing from the Ravenclaw Tower. She had threw up her hands in dismay after inspecting the Heads Dorm, and informed Mr. Malfoy that he was on his own. The two had started laughing even before the Headmistress was out the door.

"Well you wouldn't hear them carrying on about this in your common room," Cat grinned slyly.

Erin rolled her eyes. "Alright, tell me. Everything. Exactly what they said."

"Well, it wasn't much exactly," Cat hedged. "Malfoy just admitted that he was attempting to be nice to you, Benz."

"He did _what_?" Erin gasped, and Sophie perked up immediately. Even Jin spared Cat a glance. "That can't be true. Tell me what they said!"

"Well I walked in towards the end of the conversation," Cat said, "so I didn't hear everything. But Blaise was asking Draco if he was ok, which was strange in and of itself, so I stopped to listen. Draco growled at him, as per usual, and then told him that he would be ok if you, Erin, could get it through your head that he was only trying to be nice. Blaise said that Luna told him that you've been confused lately. For some reason, both of them took this as a good sign. At least, that is what Blaise said."

"A good sign?" Erin interjected.

"Yes, a good sign. Like maybe you were beginning to understand that Draco's changed? Or something. Then Draco said he wished you would be a lot less confused and a lot more receptive, and then stormed out."

There was a brief silence as they tried to digest this. "Something odd happened yesterday," Erin whispered, reluctant to even admit to the incident in the potions' cabinet. "After Marisa and I set fire to his cauldron, I tried to confront Malfoy and I couldn't get a rise out of him. I was so frustrated I couldn't think of anything further to say because he was being so bloody calm, and then he. . .well. . .he sort of hit on me."

"So?" Cat shrugged. "Doesn't he usually do that?"

"He seemed so—well, serious," Erin mused, suddenly drawn back to the memory of silver fire and crackling electricity. It was almost unreal. The butterflies in her stomach had been fluttering madly, and she had been able to move, frozen by the obviously present passion in his eyes. But it was only for a moment, and he had turned away, and she had slumped, figuring his eyes had contained his rage. Because he didn't like her, and the emotion was so strong that it had to be pent up fury.

"Harry and Malfoy have apparently formed a truce of sorts," Ginny ventured.

"They've _what_?" Sophie asked.

"I'm not sure why, or when, or how, but he did tell me that they are on speaking terms. And that Malfoy has been helping him with his current work for the Ministry. I would trust Harry's instincts, E. Malfoy must have changed."

"Did you hear anything else Cat? See anything?" she pressed.

Behind her, Marisa was checking her watch. "Four," she murmured. "Three. . .two. . .one."

A faint but echoing boom was heard from the vicinity of the Ravenclaw Tower.

"What did you do!" Jin gasped, jerking out of her studying stupor and rounding on the twins.

"It wasn't that loud, Jin," Erin smirked, momentarily distracted from Cat's information.

Screaming was now drifting through the window that was magical enhanced to take in the sights and sounds of the school grounds. There would be no way for this room to actually have windows, as the Slytherin dorms were under the lake.

"Set off a smoke bomb in Boot and Corner's room," Marisa said smugly. "Idiots won't be able to sleep in there for a week."

Sure enough, black smoke was billowing out from an upper story window, and a few students studying by the lake were pointing and clearly laughing.

"Hell yeah!" Erin high-fived her twin. The other girls just looked at them and then started laughing.

"You have an alibi and everything, Ms. Head Girl," Ginny grinned. "What until I tell George. He'll be proud."

"I bet Padma is telling Flitwick right now that Marisa and I are in the Dungeons with you lot," Erin grinned. "Hopefully he won't even question us."

"Next operation is to smuggle you back out through the common room, Gin," Marisa rolled her eyes. "We know how you don't like being seen in here."

"Ron would kill me."

"We know," the twins chorused. "It's ok, we're here."

"You know we have a meeting with McGonagall tonight, don't you, Erin?" Sophie asked.

"Bloody hell! No!" Erin wailed. "Why me?"

"You'll get out of it easy," Ginny dismissed casually.

"Before I die I want to hear the rest of your story, Cat," Erin sighed theatrically.

Cat let out a short burst of laughter. "I was basically done. I mean that was really all they said. Draco looked really out of sorts though. Crabbe and Goyle weren't even with him."

"That is strange," Jin remarked. "He doesn't like having them around when he is in a pensive mood. They annoy him with their stupidity."

"They've been annoying him with their stupidity more and more often lately, I'd say," Cat agreed. "It's probably for the best. They need to learn to live in the real world without Malfoy and I am sure he is enjoying what peace and quiet he gets in his new dorm."

"We try to see that he doesn't get too much of that, but we still have to study half the time, or at least Marisa thinks she has to, so I suppose he is getting more peace and quiet than usual," Erin shook her head morosely. "It is such a shame."

"Although, I will say that Draco has been a bit reclusive lately. I haven't seen him with any of the Slytherin slags lately, not even Pansy or Astoria," Cat told the Head Girl.

"You don't still like him, do you?" Ginny asked suddenly.

Erin gasped and rounded on the red-head indignantly. "How'd you know that? And it was only a little crush, I didn't actually _like_ him. Maybe I am a bit attracted to him, but, come _on_, who isn't?"

"I forced it out of Hermione," Ginny said airily. "Checkmate."

"Not again," Sophie groaned.

"I should go back to my tower before that meeting. Catch you later, Cat, Jin!" Erin gave hugs to both girls and then waved for Ginny and Sophie. "Come on, you two don't want to be caught in here. Let's smuggle them out, Marisa."

A/N: As close as anyone can get to blowing things up at Hogwarts, XD. Also, I realized that it is canon that Crabbe died, but I don't want to have to deal with that, so pretend like that didn't happen. Review review review!


	5. The Screaming and the War Discovered

A/N: Once again. . .review, review, review XD

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 5**

**The Screaming and the Declaration of War Discovered**

The scene in the Heads' common room approximately seventeen minutes later was not pretty, to say the least.

Erin yelled frequently, but very rarely with any genuine hints of anything stronger than annoyance. What she was doing now was the result of pent up frustration and confusion, and Marisa knew she would be apologizing for it later. After a considerable rant directed at Sophie and Marisa, she finally attempted to find the culprit.

"Draco Malfoy, you get down here right now!" she screamed, storming into the common room. Marisa just shook her head.

But he was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" she gritted out, now pounding on his door. "Why isn't he here? How could he get into my room and we couldn't get into his?"

"He's probably hiding," Sophie advised. "I would be hiding too."

Draco's entire hallway, doorway, and entranceway from the common room was now plastered with pictures of Erin, all laughing, blowing kisses, or brandishing peace signs. And Erin's whole half of the twin's room, her hallway, doorway, and entranceway, were all plastered with a smirking, sneering, and gloating Draco Malfoy.

"Serves you right," Sophie muttered as Erin threw up her hands and pelted back up the stairs for the notes she had been looking for in the first place.

Marisa just gave Sophie a look, and when Erin reappeared, she stated. "You like him."

"I do not!" Erin growled, looking offended. "How could I? That is ridiculous. I mean, he is attractive, but not my type. At all."

"Lies!" Marisa crowed. "You do. You do like him. Just admit it."

The conversation only devolved from there (Do too! Do not! Do too! Falso! Vero! etc.).

Finally, Erin threw up her hands in frustration and dragged Sophie with her out of the portrait hole so that they wouldn't be late for the meeting.

"True," Marisa muttered to their retreating backs.

Erin threw her wand back at her, hitting her twin's shoulder.

"Oh," Marisa mused, picking the instrument up and sending sparks after her sister, who yelped. "Might have missed that. Thanks!"

No sooner had the portrait closed did it swing back open, revealing a smirking Blaise Zabini. "Aren't you supposed to be at that meeting, ink-arm?" Marisa sneered.

"You forget, I am no prefect," he told her, sauntering in and situating himself comfortably on the couch opposite from the one Marisa sank herself into. "When do you think they'll be back from that awful mess?"

"You mean, who will be an awful mess when they get back?" she returned. "Because I am leaning heavily on your best mate. What do you want?"

Blaise laughed at Marisa's characteristic bluntness. "Maybe I just wanted to relax for a while, away from blithering idiots who can't understand the word 'bigotry.'"

"I don't know what 'bigotry' means," Marisa stated, very seriously.

Blaise gave her a hard look. "Your seeming ignorance of so-called 'big' words only fools your sister," he groused.

"Wrong," Marisa snorted. "What do you want?"

"Can we do potions homework?" Blaise suddenly beamed beatifically. "This is a neutral zone."

"Now only the second legitimate one in the entirety of Hogwarts," Marisa conceded. They had usually been doing their homework in the library. "Fine."

Blaise was silent for a moment as he fished out his homework and drew out his books. The reclusive but destructive Ravenclaw had certainly appealed to the previously austere and somewhat withdrawn Slytherin when he had first come to Hogwarts. While both Marisa and Blaise would describe Draco and Erin as hating each other, to a certain extent, the two of them had fallen out of hatred somewhere in Blaise's third year. Marisa had always done advanced potions, so she was usually in Blaise's classes, and the two of them had silently began to do homework together while shut up in the library.

Marisa had an awful temper, however, so Blaise learned—after a few black eyes and a broken collar bone—to be careful of angering her beyond the point of reason. They weren't friends exactly—it was very hard to become friends with Marisa Benzene—but she tolerated him to some extent, and that was something.

She was particularly sensitive to comments regarding right and wrong, good and evil. She had a very clear-cut, black and white view of the world, and Blaise shouldn't have gotten her riled up on the train. It was just so _amusing_ sometimes, though.

He had also learned that Marisa controlled herself much better when she was around Erin, or when she was with only one or two other people.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. "Now what do you want?"

He gave her a twisted grin, and wished, not for the first or last time, that he had had as much fire as she did within her soul while he was being frozen within the Dark Lord's grasp. "Can't figure out the practical applications of a nitric distillation of Acromantuala serum."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "That's because there are only two, genius."

"This whole talking thing is getting better and better," he grinned, and Marisa flared.

"No."

Marisa truly didn't like talking. When Blaise had stopped being so shy in his fifth year, she had shrank back from him. It had taken over a year for him to convince her to hold conversations of decent length with him, albeit insult-laden and condescending conversations.

In his opinion, Ravenclaws were fine. Like Loony. She was fine. He just had a problem warming up to Gryffindors, so it was a good thing Marisa was the one who had roped Hermione into studying with them more than four years ago, or Blaise would never have considered 'bigotry' a word he knew either.

Now, in the aftermath of the downfall of his mother's idol, he was grateful to Marisa and to Hermione for their silent impact on his reassessment of the world. He had been lucky. Not quite as lucky as Draco, because he had had a male role model advocating for reason and the discarding of nonsensical pure-blood ideals, but he had still been lucky. He had been able to survive under the thumb of the Dark Lord, while making sure he wasn't actually doing anything against his moral code.

He had _had_ a moral code. He had been very lucky indeed, and in the aftermath he was set free. His and Draco's survival techniques had paid off, and now they were free.

Marisa was giving him an odd look, so he laughed softly, and said, "You are a lovely woman, did you know that, Benz-Deux?"

He was rewarded with a deep scowl and a pillow in the face. "Better and better," he repeated.

A/N: Draco will reappear in a few chapters. . .unless Erin kills him of course. . .


	6. The Hufflepuffs and A Crisis Averted

A/N: The last two chapters offered a bit of an emotional insight to Draco and Blaise, but this is more of a light-hearted story, so I don't guarantee tons of that stuff XP. But I will promise a couple twin induced pranks within the next few chapters.

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 6**

**The Hufflepuffs and A Crisis Averted**

"I hate my life," Erin groaned, this time sprawled on the floor in one of the Hufflepuff dorm rooms after classes the next day.

"Why now," sighed Katya, Natalie's blond roommate. The other two occupants of the room were out, probably comforting Terry Boot and Michael Corner with a horde of other students, since the two boys had just got out of the Hospital Wing. Secretly, they probably all just wanted to see the sorry state the two boys were still in after the fallout of the twin's bomb.

"I think I like Draco Malfoy," Erin groaned again, burying her head under Natalie's pillow. Only the three girls were present, because the Head Girl didn't want to admit such an embarrassing thing in front of anyone else, especially not in front of Marisa, not yet.

Katya began giggling. "You're just realizing this _now_?"

"Shut up!" came her friend's muffled voice.

Natalie was busy poking at a strange fruit candy sitting on her desk. "Where did this come from?" she murmured.

"I wouldn't eat it, it's probably from Marisa," Erin warned generously.

"Why is this a problem?" Katya asked her, beaming. "You two would make a lovely couple, and I think mostly all the students would agree with me on this one, except for his incessant fan club, the slags."

"But I can't like him!" Erin moaned. "It wouldn't work at all!"

"Why not?" Katya shrugged. "I mean, your mum is a pureblood, so you have something to talk about with his parents. He's mature, and has a tight grasp on his emotions so you won't have to deal with him being stupid like other teenage boys. He can keep up with you intellectually, so you definitely won't be bored."

"My father's not a pureblood," Erin muttered. "Like I care, obviously. And I don't know about those other things."

"Uh huh," Katya grinned, clearly not convinced. "Anything else you'd like to deny?"

"Oh, Katya," the Head Girl moaned, "Do you know what he did yesterday?"

"Pasted your room with pictures of himself?"

"How'd you already know?" Erin gasped indignantly. "That was my story, Marisa wasn't supposed to go around telling it!"

Katya snorted. "Yeah, because Marisa always tells your stories."

"Where else would you have heard?"

"Overheard Blaise telling Pansy at breakfast," Natalie told her smugly.

Erin grit her teeth. "Oh, the nerve of that boy. I wish Marisa had chosen someone else to not hate. I mean, she hates everyone, why not him?"

"She'd claim she does hate him," Katya pointed out.

"That doesn't mean it is _true_," Erin groused. "She never admits to being able to tolerate someone. She's tolerated him for _years_. Ask Hermione."

"It's probably because he is more studious than you," Katya teased. "He doesn't have ADHD."

"I _don't_—oh sweet Merlin, what is that doing here?" she gasped, pointing at a hair clip lying on Natalie's desk.

The other two girls just stared at her, open-mouthed, for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"What?" she asked, sounding sheepish. She thought back for a moment and then groaned. "Merlin's blooming knickers, I _do _have ADHD."

"Malfoy gave that to me to give to you," Natalie answered her question, kindly skirting Erin's attention issues. "He said you lost it?"

"I did, but how'd he know that? That tosser!"

"Clearly he stole it so that he could give it to you with his admission of his undying love for you, and then chickened out," Katya said drily.

"Now I have to thank him!" Erin wailed. "And I wanted to yell him, because he all but ran away from me before I could get around to giving him a piece of my mind last night."

"Oh, the horror," Natalie giggled. "You and Malfoy would make such a cute couple."

"That is a lie, we'd self-destruct."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Katya warned. "I actually think it would work out a lot better than you would expect."

"I don't want to think about it anymore."

"Well everyone else does. . ." Natalie muttered.

"What do you mean?" Erin snapped.

"Haven't you noticed? Half the school is all up in flames about your not-romance," Natalie grinned.

"People are _talking_ about us?" Erin buried her face in her hands and let out another mournful sigh. "But I don't want anyone talking about us! There is no 'us'! There can't be an 'us,' and I don't want to talk about an 'us' so no one else should talk about _us _either!"

"And when I was talking to Cat, she told me that it is all the talk in the Slytherin dorms," Katya added, shaking her head at Erin's rant.

"You should tell her," Natalie murmured.

"Tell me _what_?" Erin gritted out, her voice still muffled by her hands.

Katya grimaced. "Well, there's a betting pool, you know."

"A _what_?" she gasped, her head shooting right back up.

"A betting pool. It apparently started in the Slytherin common room. But rumor has it that Marisa's put a large amount of money down on a date that is sometime within the next week."

"_She_ _what_?" Erin sprang from the bed, suddenly indignant. "That is not ok! I am going to kill her!"

A/N: Marisa will return next chapter. . .if Erin doesn't kill her. XD. But, as you can see, Erin didn't kill Malfoy, so Marisa's chances are looking pretty good! Four reviews, please? Is that too much to ask?


	7. The Candy and the Crisis Not Averted

A/N: Oh how the tragedies of life interrupt the important things. . .lol.

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 7**

**The Candy and the Crisis Not Averted**

Erin made one mistake, which was to start looking for her sister in their common room.

Because of course Marisa wouldn't be in the Head's suite when Erin needed her, but Malfoy would be.

She didn't see him when she stormed through the entrance and very nearly tore the doors to her rooms off their hinges. But when she skirted the edges of the dimly lit common room, just making sure that her twin wasn't hiding, she quite suddenly nearly ran into him.

She jerked back, and sighed, "Quicksilver."

"I rather like that one," he smirked, pushing himself off the wall and buffing probably impeccable nails on his shirt. "I was wondering if I was going to see you today, love."

Now she glared. "Listen, Malfoy, you can't run away this time, and if you think you can waltz into my room and plaster your ruddy face all over the damn place, you're wrong. What is mine is mine, and what's yours is yours, I certainly did not paste myself into your room, now did I?"

She stepped closer to him and prodded him in the chest, forcing him back against the wall. "So I would like to know what gave you license to bully into my room in order to graffiti—"

"Actually, I thought I was just doing you a favor."

She cocked an eyebrow, and gave him a look. "Really. Which favor might that be?"

He took a step forward, and she automatically stepped back—into the wall. "This way you don't have to keep looking for me when you want to stare," he rasped.

"Stare? At you?" she said evenly, annoyed that he had turned the tables on her so quickly and trying to steady her breathing as he loomed over her in all of his annoyingly handsome glory.

"Don't think I don't notice, Benz," he growled, and he was too close, too close, too close—the raging fire was burning again in his quicksilver eyes, and she couldn't write it off as fury this time. "But you keep your distance. Afraid to get burned?"

"You couldn't burn me, Malfoy," she murmured, unwittingly transfixed by the unspoken promise of something heady and crackling and almost tangible between them. "Quicksilver is cold."

"You're right," he breathed. "But if you apply just a little heat—" his breath was warm in her face, and his hand was centimeters, breaths, a hair's width away from her cheek, and to her horror, she felt her eyes fluttering closed, her skin yearning for that touch— "I still melt."

She felt frozen as his hand bridged the imperceptible gap, and his fingers were pulling through her hair, the pad of his thumb tracing her cheek bone. She snapped her eyes back open, willing herself not to shrink back against the wall like a coward. "I could just scream at you right now, Malfoy," she hissed, willfully grasping his wrist to throw him off.

"I'd like to hear you scream," he smirked, and she did throw his hand off, not even allowing herself to stoop to his level and retort to so asinine a comment. She honestly didn't know what he was playing at, but at this point she couldn't think clearly around him. At this point, she still wasn't sure if he was serious, and even if he was she wasn't sure she was completely ready to forgive him for—well, being him.

She brushed past him, heart pounding through her chest, and was out the portrait hole before she realized she hadn't actually asked him to take all the pictures down. With a frustrated sigh, she set off again.

The Head Girl finally found her twin lurking in a hallway barely out of sight of the Fat Lady approximately fifteen minutes later. "Excuse me!" she hissed.

"What?" Marisa snapped, a perplexed look on her face. "I'm busy."

"What on earth with?"

"Natalie gave the candy I gave her to Sophie. It's having a weird effect on her."

Erin looked out from their niche hiding place and saw Sophie determinedly trying to shake a confused third year off of her arm. The third year was apologizing profusely, and explaining that he wasn't doing it on purpose.

"What was it supposed to do?" Erin hissed, her mind forgetting the amazing bouncing ferret and already working out the ingredients in the sweet she had seen on Natalie's desk only minutes ago.

"Stick the pages of the stupid romance novels together whenever Natalie tried to read them," Marisa muttered. "I think with Sophie it is just sticking things. . .oh shite."

A first year had caught onto the third year's elbow and was now stuck as well.

"This is like the golden goose thing from that one fairy tale," Erin mused. "They touched it or each other and couldn't get loose."

Marisa looked at her like she had three heads. "I don't remember that fairy tale."

"No, I swear! It all had to do with a golden goose, and things sticking together!" Erin gave up after another look at Marisa's incredulous face and asked hurriedly, "Well, what do we do?"

"We could use a—"

"You know that never—"

"Fine, the antidote to fl—"

"Counteracted by the mint, so maybe an infusion of—"

"Made it immune, we'll have to cast the Var—"

"I doubt that can reverse effects such as these, so—"

"Invictus Maximus," they both said at the same time, grinning at each other.

"Think it will work?" Erin asked as Marisa brandished her wand.

"Let's hope," she muttered before she cast the spell.

There was an explosion that knocked them back behind a suite of armor and made them both shield their eyes. When they emerged, coughing and blinking, there were three golden geese squawking in the corridor.

"Damnit," Erin breathed.

"Run."

A/N: Quicksilver was a spur of the moment thing, so don't hate, and review!


	8. The Antidote and the Lacewings Fly

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 8**

**The Antidote and the Lacewings Fly**

It wasn't until the two of them had spent an hour and a half working out how to reverse their disastrous spell (they'd managed to get the antidote to the geese, but McGonagall caught them and they were given detention for a week) that Erin was finally able to question Marisa about the Draco Malfoy and Erin Benzene betting pool.

"You like him," Marisa shrugged. "It's only a matter of time. I decided to put some money on it. What's so wrong with that?"

"You're my sister," Erin hissed. "Aren't you supposed to have my back or something? Like not indicating to anyone that there might be some sort of. . . _emotional connection_ between me and _Malfoy_?"

Marisa grinned maliciously. "Nope."

Erin threw up her hands, exasperated. "Why do I even try?" she directed the question to the ceiling.

"I would like to win by the way," her sister told her, now examining her nails. "So you'd better get moving with that whole dating Draco Malfoy thing."

"But I don't _want_ to date Draco Malfoy!" she protested.

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, uh huh. Sure."

There was a long silence. "It would help if you told me which day you picked," Erin grumbled.

"Can't. Zabini put a charm on the paper so none of us can tell you our days and cheat."

"Figures," Erin sighed. "Marisa?"

"What."

"Do you think I really like him? Do you think it would be. . .ok?"

"He's. . .alright," Marisa shrugged, which was her way of saying she approved. "And you like ferret-boy, damnit, so stop trying to figure out why or trying to get rid of it."

"I hate my life," Erin repeated.

"Really?" Marisa had a falsely innocent look on her face. "I thought that was yesterday."

Erin snarled and threw some left over lacewings at her. "Shut up. That _was_ yesterday. Life qualifies several days. Hopefully many."

Marisa picked the lacewings out of her hair, and casually tossed them back on Erin's desk. "You should put those back before Professor Slughorn figures out that they are _all_ gone."

"I am going to die," Erin grumbled, scooping up the lacewings and some mandrake leaves.

"Everyone dies," Marisa said, already burying herself in a textbook. "By the way, the Halloween Feast is this weekend."

"Really? The Halloween Feast is on Halloween? Who knew? I thought it was—" she cut herself off with a gasp. "The Halloween Feast! What am I going to wear?! McGonagall is probably going to make me coordinate with Draco, oooh, the nerve of that woman, I wanted _us_ to go as Helen and Clytemnestra of Troy!"

Marisa was smirking. "That was stupid anyway. By the way, that one picture he put directly above your bed looks like he was modeling for Hollister."

"I hate you." And the Head Girl was off to Slughorn's office.

A/N: This chapter is short because I had no further inspiration. Heads up for Draco next chapter! Five reviews? Is that too much to ask?


	9. The Eavesdropping and the Revalation

A/N: I was going to flesh this chapter out a bit more, but, um, Independence Day was on. . .

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 9**

**The Eavesdropping and the Strange Revelation**

Erin almost made it. Almost.

She cursed and stepped back into the supplies closet, praying that whoever it was strolling into Slughorn's office would leave quickly.

"Oh, I wish he were here," came Professor Vector's voice. "He probably would have had at least some sort of idea for you."

"I guess it is alright, Professor," and Erin was almost shocked to hear Malfoy's voice, although she had seen him with Vector before. "I'll just have to come up with matching costumes for Benz and I."

"You _could_ ask her what she thinks, you know," the professor said gently.

Draco snorted. "No, she definitely hates me after the stunt I pulled in her room yesterday.  
I have to let her cool off first, and we only have two days before the Halloween Feast."

"If that is one thing you must learn about women, then you must learn it now," Vector told the Head Boy. "A woman who is a friend will be quick to forgive, but a woman who has been made an enemy will hold a grudge for many moons. My Severus learned that the hard way."

There was a brief silence before he spoke and when he did Erin could hear the sorrow in Malfoy's voice. "Professor—"

"Just Pri, if you don't mind dear. You are making me feel old."

"Pri, then. Did my godfather. . .was he ever able to reconcile himself with. . .you know. . ."

"They never spoke again," and Vector's voice held a sorrow just as deep as Malfoy's. "I could never compare to Lily Evans in his mind, but I made do. I understood. No man could match my first love, either. But I will tell you one thing, Draco."

"Yes?"

"Do not be afraid of your emotions. Your godfather told you this, I am sure. His conformity to the male identity of Slytherin cost him his best friend, his love, and ultimately his life. Don't waste the gift he gave you. He spent many years protecting you. Learn from his mistakes."

"But Professor—"

"Trust me," Vector said softly. Erin let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. Vector and Snape? Who knew? "Severus wanted you to be happy, and safe. Trust your instincts. And remember what I said about women. That is my gift to you."

"Thank you, Pri," he whispered, and Erin could have sworn that the Malfoy heir actually sounded like he meant it. "Knowing that you supported my godfather through everything and that you believe wholeheartedly in what he taught me means more than you could ever know."

"Oh I know," Vector said, a strange sort of amusement entering into her voice. "I know. Let's go whip together a few designs from this magazine, shall we? I don't think Horace will mind if we borrow it."

Erin slumped in relief as the two exited the office as silently as they had come in. She darted from the closet and disappeared up a set of narrow stairs, loping towards her common room as fast as she could. Draco Malfoy was capable of feelings. Well, she had known that. But strong feelings. This was good to know.

This was very good to know. Maybe she would forgive him after all, although that decision might have been influenced by the model pose plastered to her ceiling.

A/N: This was done as a favor to a friend, because I love you girl, and because what awesome dude like Draco Malfoy doesn't need some really fantastic advice from a motherly role model?

That button down there XD


	10. The Detention and the Zabini Challenge

A/N: And. . .here. . .we. . .go. Come on!

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 10**

**The Detention and the Zabini Challenge**

Malfoy joined them in detention that night.

"What are you doing here, ferret-boy?" hissed Marisa as she scrubbed a trophy belonging to some long forgotten Head Boy.

"McGonagall caught Blaise and I with one of Slughorn's magazines without permission," Draco said breezily. "Detention for a week."

"Yeah, that's right, Benz-Deux," Blaise grinned as he walked in, swiping Marisa's cloth, who jumped up and growled. "Detention with you for a whole week. What do you think?"

Erin tuned out Marisa's threats, staring at Draco. He had landed himself detention on purpose. They had _both_ landed themselves detention on purpose. She'd heard Vector let Draco take the magazine.

Maybe she actually had a chance with Draco.

But then Blaise—

She tuned back in to the two bickering behind her in shock, just in time to catch Blaise sneering, and saying, "Fine. Prove it. Accept my challenge."

"Marisa!" Erin intervened quickly. "Bet you can't make it to the top!"

"Hell, I can," Marisa said just as quickly, and suddenly the two were scaling opposite sides of the towering trophy case like it were a rock wall.

"What the bloody hell are you doing, you stupid bints?" Draco snapped, aghast.

"They do this every time they have detention in here," Blaise said, looking bored. "You've never had detention with the twins in the trophy room before? Once there was a whole crowd of us. They both made it to the top that night without help."

"They don't usually make it?" Draco asked, confused. "Well, what do they do then?"

"Someone usually catches them."

Both boys stood awkwardly at opposite ends of the cabinet, staring up at the seemingly insane girls as the laughed and taunted each other. "Don't worry Benz, I'm here when you fall," Draco said brightly.

"There's no way I trust a Slytherin to catch me," proclaimed Erin, as she perched on the top of the cabinet, beaming at Marisa, and helping her the rest of the way up. "I win!"

"This time," Marisa groused, rubbing her arm gingerly. "That was stupid. Why is there always a next time? Do you have a wand, ink-arm?"

Blaise smiled good-naturedly. "Yes. McGonagall must like me or something."

"I need it to get down."

"Take my challenge first."

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Yes, fine."

"Wear the Helen of Troy costume I have in my room to the Feast tomorrow."

Marisa's eyes went wide and then narrowed to slits. "What."

Blaise beamed. "I'm going as Paris."

Marisa opened her mouth to retort, but Erin leaned over and nudged her. "He's cute," she grinned wickedly. "And we can modify his costume to fit my design for you. And of course we need to get down. And I'm not letting Draco catch me."

Marisa gritted her teeth. "Fine, Zabini. But that costume better show up in our common room _fast_, or deal's off."

"Done!" Blaise said, and he tossed the wand up to the twins, who quickly maneuvered themselves to the ground.

"McGonagall told me we have to coordinate on our costumes," Draco muttered to Erin, his attention completely fixed on the gold cup he was polishing.

"I figured, Malfoy."

"Any. . .ideas?" he asked tentatively, and she looked at him, surprised. She was. . .touched that he had actually take Vector's advice.

"Maybe if you removed your pictures from my ceiling I would be able to think more clearly," she suggested, a hint of annoyance creeping into her tone.

"So I distract you?" Draco smirked.

"You don't," she glowered. "It is hard to sleep while being glared at from a thousand different directions at once."

"Well, it's a good thing your pictures are only in my hall then."

"Malfoy—"

"I'll remove them if you get rid of yours."

"Deal," Erin said grudgingly. "And I am not wearing anything embarrassing in front of the school. Like a horse. Or a tree."

A/N: Well, this is going swimmingly.

Review!


	11. The Necklace and Too Much Mythology

A/N: Greek mythology ftw! XD

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 11**

**The Necklace and Too Much Mythology**

"This is the same damn thing as a tree, basically!" Erin hissed to Marisa, who was modeling her altered Helen of Troy costume in front of the mirror in their room during their free period Friday afternoon.

"You don't have to wear a crown," Marisa grumbled. "Or stand next to Zabini all night."

"You asked for it," Erin snickered. "Accepting something he would throw at you without knowing what it was first? Idiotic. Especially since I've told you since like _fourth year_ that he totally likes you."

"Well," her sister glowered, "_you_ have to wear _that_."

"Shut up, it wasn't my idea to be Persephone, ok?" Erin fumed. "Why does Draco think he makes a good Lord of the Dead anyway? Greek Gods. Great idea. I should have thought of that. But why couldn't we have been, like, Artemis and Apollo or something? That would have made more sense."

"You're clearly not related. Would make no sense."

Erin waved her dress in front of Marisa's face. "So _this_ makes sense?"

"At least it isn't called incest," Marisa deadpanned.

"Oh, you're impossible! We're not like _that_, at all!"

She rolled her eyes. "Just try it on. The vines won't make you look like a tree."

Erin didn't so much as jump, but turned to glower at the entrance as the door burst open and Draco Malfoy strolled casually in. "Benz-Deux, stunning as always," he said calmly.

Marisa rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, whatever, ferret-boy."

"My dear Head Girl," Malfoy continued, turning to Erin, who was thanking her lucky stars that she hadn't begun to change, "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of accompanying me to the feast tomorrow."

"I would say yes if I didn't know that we _have_ to go together, snake brain," she muttered.

Draco sneered. "I _know_ that, Benzene. Just do me a favor and say yes, alright?"

Erin looked taken aback. Marisa was doing her best not to snicker behind Malfoy, and then quietly slipped into the bathroom to give her sister some much needed privacy. "Yes?" she said tentatively, like she wasn't even sure what she was agreeing to. "Why are you being all gentlemanly all of a sudden?"

He gave her his trademark smirk. "Malfoys _are_ gentlemen. You won't regret this; you will have a fantastic time as my date."

"I don't like that word," Erin frowned.

"You're too picky about semantics," he said breezily. "I could have just said that we are going together, but that means the same thing as you being my date."

"Yes, but the word 'date' implies that we actually wanted to go with one another," Erin snapped, her cold wit being her last defense against him, because even though she had resolved to forgive him, and pretty much had, she still hadn't finished fuming about her costume.

"No, it implies that_ I_ wanted to go with you, and when I asked you, you, for some reason, said yes," he told her, his eyes flashing with that uncomfortable heat that signaled to her that he was about to do something unnerving.

She moved to stop him. "So _you_, Malfoy, wanted to go with _me_?" she asked, stepping closer, hoping to intimidate him.

It didn't work. She was merely treated to a savage grin and his hands clasping her own. "Yes, I believe I just said that." He pressed something into her hand and then turned away. "I also came here to keep my promise," he told her, before waving his wand.

Suddenly all the pictures except the one of him looking like a Hollister model disappeared. She scowled, and went to make a scathing remark, but he said, "So you know I'm watching you watch me, Erin," and he left.

Marisa came back into the room and burst into unforgiving laughter, and Erin just stared, slack-jawed at the door. "How did he—Merlin's beard!"

"What else could there be?" Marisa snickered. Erin just held out her hand mutely, showing her twin the necklace that he had given her. It was clearly supposed to go with her Persephone costume, but it was also unmistakably a Malfoy heirloom.

A/N: OMG WHAT IS IT?

Review XD


	12. The Inflation and the Dates Confirmed

A/N: I would like to say thank you to my faithful readers! I apologizing to you for taking a hiatus, but I am going to finish the story out now, as I am home and done with finals.

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 12**

**The Inflation and the Dates Confirmed**

They were in Charms, their last class of the day, when the girls pounced on them, even Jin.

"Is it true?" Cat whispered. "The whole Slytherin house is up in flames."

"The girls in my dorm were all complaining about Blaise no longer being available," said Luna dreamily. "It's a bit strange really, they could stop paying so much attention to my cousin and help me get rid of the Nargles."

"Blaise is your cousin, too?" Jin gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Luna blinked owlishly. "I thought you knew."

"Back to Blaise being unavailable," Ginny hissed impatiently. "Isa, are you really going with him?"

"Never mind that," Cat snickered. "Erin, what about you and Draco?"

The twins were whispering to each other, eying the windows of the castle warily. Hermione was the only one who caught on to this. "What are you two doing?" she asked suspiciously.

"You don't think someone else could have gotten it again?" Marisa growled, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Not this time. Definitely not this time," Erin assured her.

Sophie hit her to get her attention. "E! Hello, we are trying to talk to you about the feast here."

"Not now," Erin waved her away impatiently.

"But there are rumors flying all over the school!" Sophie said impatiently. "Aren't you embarrassed? Or indignant? Or something?"

Marisa snorted. "When am I not indignant?"

"Guys!" Ginny wailed. "I want to know if the rumors are true or not!"

"Don't you think we would have seen her by now?" Erin muttered.

Cat was about to politely ask a question, when the door opened and Professor Sinistra was standing there with a haggard looking Katya.

"Oh, Iriny!" Flitwick tittered, falling off his stack of books. "What brings you here?"

The woman's eyes twinkled as laugh lines formed around her eyes. "Well, Professor, I was hoping you could help me out."

"Yes, yes, of course," he muttered, picking himself up amid subdued snickers from the Slytherin section. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, you know I am not known for my charm work, and it seems as though a rather complicated one was set upon one of my students," she told him.

"Oh no," Erin breathed. "Why'd she have to be in Sinistra's class? She knows _everything_."

"What happened?" Flitwick squeaked.

Katya was glaring at the twins from behind Sinistra, and made a "what the hell?" sort of gesture with her hands.

Erin had a completely blank, innocent face on, as Marisa very carefully studied the ceiling.

"Well, Natalie Zhu was calmly working on an assignment when all of a sudden she swelled up to at least twice her normal size and started floating around the room."

Hermione gasped. "You got that idea from Harry, didn't you?" she accused.

She got twin blank stares in response.

"Inflation?" the Charms professor raised his eyebrows. "Hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm. Well—" shrieking could be heard faintly outside the classroom, but Flitwick didn't seem to notice, "—where is the poor girl now?"

Natalie floated past the window, yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Why, I do believe that was Natalie just now," Professor Sinistra said calmly.

"Yes, well," Flitwick waved his hand frantically. "We must go and fix this immediately. Or at least tether her. Coming, Iriny?"

"Oh yes, Flitwick, thanks very much," she said, following the minute professor out of the classroom with Katya. She turned to look at the students, "Be good in his absence children."

Then she searched the room until her eyes alighted upon the twins, who had returned to their very innocent act. "Nice work," she mouthed, and then vanished into the hallway.

The twins were both shocked for about two seconds before they both started howling in laughter. "Nice!" Erin shrieked, and they high-fived. Another for the record.

"Yes, yes, that was lovely," Sophie brushed them apart, but she was grinning. "_Now_ will you tell us about the Halloween Feast?"

"Crazy is going with ferret-boy," Marisa sold her sister out maliciously.

"Yeah well, _Benz-Deux_ is going with _ink-arm_," Erin glared.

There was a collective gasp and general clatter, before Marisa hissed, "Shut _up_, they're right there."

Which was unfortunately true. Erin peeked around Jin and saw the two Slytherins lounging with their usual cronies and smirking at the knot of girls. Draco winked at her and licked his lips. Erin scowled. "I hate men," she muttered to her friends.

A/N: Poor Natalie. . .lol.


	13. The Concession and Another Detention

A/N: I don't really know what happens in this chapter. Honestly.

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 13**

**The Concession and Another Detention**

After class Marisa disappeared like she was wont to do at times, and Erin tried to remain in the midst of her girls so that she could ignore Malfoy.

She should have known not to trust them, especially Luna.

"Hello Draco!" the blond said brightly. "Charms was fascinating today, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I always love to learn new useless extraordinarily difficult charms," Malfoy said blandly. "You don't mind if I borrow Erin, do you?"

"You go on ahead Luna," Erin sighed, glaring at her other friends as they sidled away. "I'll catch up with you at dinner." She turned to Malfoy, but he beat her to it.

"Lovely day for a walk, Benz," he said smoothly.

"I'm not going outside," she said rather waspishly.

"I can take you back to our common room then," he said rather gallantly. "Unless, of course, you're afraid of being all alone with a frighteningly handsome bloke like me. Is that why Marisa lives with us?"

"No of course not, and I am not afraid of you," she murmured, smiling politely and waving as Professor Vector passed them. "Hello, Professor!"

"I think you are," he said equally quietly. "Professor! Are you heading outside on this crisp autumn day unlike the Head Girl here?"

Vector treated them to a warm smile. "I think I just might. I don't blame Erin though, I remember how she dislikes the cold."

Erin blushed. "I was eleven then, Professor. But yes, I would rather stay inside."

"You made an adorable chattering icicle by the front doors though," Vector grinned. "I still say you are lucky I found you."

"I was," Erin conceded.

"Well off you go then, you two! I may as well pop in on Hagrid. Have lovely afternoon!"

"The same, Professor!" Draco returned.

"You too, Professor!" Erin replied, before hissing, "I might be afraid of the cold, but I am not afraid of you, Draco Malfoy."

"I think you are. You've been avoiding me, and you've been skirting the common room lately. I think you are afraid of how you feel about me."

"Really? What's that?" she asked.

"You're afraid of how deeply attracted to my devilish attractiveness you are. And you're afraid of how much you want me—"

"Do not finish that sentence," she growled, but she was fighting not to smile. "You're delusional."

"Or you are afraid that I will suddenly turn into a scary Death Eater and tie you up in a closet somewhere and do unspeakable things to you until—"

"I think it is amusing that you think that I find you as a Death Eater frightening, Malfoy."

"Really?" he smirked, before turning a corner sharply and pinning her to a wall. She gasped indignantly. "I could hex you into oblivion with curses invented by the Dark Lord himself. Frightened?"

"Bluffing," she scoffed.

"Empty closet—"

"You can't find your way to the bathroom in the morning, let alone find a closet," she sneered.

"Which brings us back to your fear of your attraction to me." He brought one hand up and cupped her neck, using his thumb to tilt her chin. "Now are you frightened?"

She couldn't breathe. And if he got much closer, she wouldn't want to be held accountable for her actions. "Yes," she murmured, before she thought. His eyes widened, and she pushed herself away from the wall and spun them around. She had to look up at him, which spoiled the effect, but she smirked anyway. "Afraid?"

He shot her a dazzling smile that almost made her wish she hadn't moved so quickly. "My, Benzene, you are one terrifying witch."

"Damn straight I am," she muttered stepping away.

His hand was on her shoulder and they were walking again before she could blink. Then his hand dropped and the moment was gone, replaced by planning for the Halloween feast and their normal bickering.

They parted ways at the common room, and each went to dinner, which was a rather uneventful affair. Erin picked at her food as Marisa listened, glaze-eyed, to Padma Patil recount her terrible Herbology lesson. After dinner the two had detention with the Slytherins again, which was not something either of the twins wanted to do, especially since they weren't exactly sure how they were supposed to act towards the two boys.

"Marisa, do you even like him?" Erin hissed as trotted to keep up with her sister as they whizzed down to the dungeons.

"Go away," Marisa shot back. "Not talking about this."

"Come on!"

"Go away," she whined again.

"Please? Please, please, please? I just want to know if this is ok or not. I mean, you are getting dressed up, for Merlin's sake."

"He's alright," Marisa conceded. Erin knew that was really all she was going to get out of her sister.

Slughorn interrupted them and set them to sorting out ingredients that he thankfully didn't know that they had ransacked in the first place. They huddled as far away as possible from the door, and ignored Malfoy and Zabini when they entered.

Erin shot a furtive glance at the boys and then muttered, "Is it ok—I mean, do you think I can trust. . .Draco. Can I trust Malfoy?"

Marisa shrugged. "Ferret is ok, I guess."

Before she could comment on her sister's surprising acceptance of their predicament, Blaise slid into the closet next to Marisa with a self-satisfied smirk. "Looking good, Benz-Deux. And I wasn't just talking about the shelves.

Erin missed Marisa's scathing reply because Malfoy latched onto her arm and dragged her out of the closet to finish planning the feast.

And the funny thing was, they didn't get into an angry shouting match once.

A/N: But I wanted them to get into a shouting match. . . :( Things are heating up. . .review please!


	14. The Bequeathing and the Study Session

A/N: I would like to thank all of the new readers I suddenly accumulated! Since this story is winding down (there will be three more chapters after this one) I have decided to hold a contest! Whoever answers my question correctly will win a one-shot, either in my "Seventh Year" universe or in any specified AU, EWE, or Epilogue Compliant universe. Although I have a favorite non-canon pairing that I would love to write about, I will be willing to negotiate the content (pairing) of the one-shot with the winner!

The question: Which character is based off my roommate, the girl I wrote this story for?

Good luck!

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 14**

**The Bequeathing and the Study Session**

Erin woke up late and lay in bed until Marisa yelled at her to get up and eat. Roused by the threat of an Aguamenti charm, she let Marisa drag her to lunch. The two ate in a quiet corner of the Hall and Erin was in a whimsical mood so they bickered about a set of Muggle books she had made Marisa read during the summer.

Malfoy somehow managed to appear before they left, but he thankfully stayed clear of their table. Erin was still very confused about the current situation with the pale, blond-haired teenager. "What do you think he's playing at?" she mused as she finished off her bacon and abruptly changed the subject.

Marisa blinked. "I don't think he's playing at anything, you daft bint," she returned easily, used to her sister's sudden jumps in conversation.

Erin glared at her. "I am not daft. I am merely being cautious."

"Overly cautious. All right, ferret-boy?"

Erin tensed momentarily, the now annoyingly familiar warm, fluttering sensation spreading through her stomach, and then slowly turned as he said easily, "Hullo, Benz-Duex. Lovely afternoon isn't?"

"It's afternoon already?" Erin murmured. "We'd best get back to our books before the Halloween Feast then, eh, Marisa?"

"I was just going back to our common room," the Head Boy said smoothly. "Mind if I walk with you?"

"Well this is familiar," Erin grumbled to Marisa as they rose from the table. "I'm surprised you haven't disappeared yet."

"Isa," purred a voice from behind them. "I reckon I'll come study with you lot. That will be just splendid, right?"

Marisa ground her teeth together at the nickname and spun around to give Blaise a piece of her mind. That argument lasted until the four of them had reached the Head Dorm, and Erin was supremely grateful that Malfoy hadn't gotten her into a deserted corridor alone again. She quietly retreated to her desk on the far side of the room as Marisa and Blaise sank into a couch, now heatedly discussing the proper usage of stewed shrivelfig pods.

Malfoy disappeared for a few minutes before settling down at his desk, and the four of them actually worked for about an hour (Blaise and Marisa managed to finish their Potions essay in record time).

"I told you that it would be best to write about Shrinking Solutions!" Marisa said triumphantly. "Although basic, the description of the transformation into the more complicated Shrinking Drought is perfect for Slughorn."

"Right as always, Isa," Blaise sighed. He could see Marisa bristling at the further usage of her ill-liked nickname and hurriedly said, "Hermione is coming by in a bit isn't she? Maybe she'll check and see if I wrote down the right stirring techniques for a Shrinking Drought."

"Hermione probably finished it last week," Marisa grumbled. "She probably wrote about the use of shrivelfig in French love potions."

Draco appeared next to Erin's desk and said casually, "All right there, Benzene?"

"Mhhm," she murmured, putting the finishing touches on a History of Magic essay. "Get any work done, Malfoy?"

"Sort of. When are your mates coming over?"

"Considerate, Malfoy, very considerate. Be careful or Blaise will start calling you soft."

"Well I know girls need ages to get ready for anything. Oi!" He ducked the quill she chucked at him and scowled. "Next time you need to borrow one of my quills, ask!"

"That wasn't—well you leave them lying all over the place, anyway," Erin said off-handedly. "And by the way, Malfoy, I want you to have this back."

She carefully placed a box with a clear lid in his hands. The necklace he had given her could be seen gleaming dully beneath the surface of the glass.

Malfoy looked at it for a moment, his expression unfathomable, before he carefully removed the lid and fished out the heirloom. "This is very old," he said softly. "It belonged to my great-great-great-great-grandmother."

"Which is precisely why I cannot take it," Erin interjected seriously, also keeping her voice down so that they wouldn't disturb Marisa and Blaise. Hermione had been let in and was now talking with them animatedly about shrivelfig Shrinking Droughts and French love potions. "Just look at it, Draco, anyone can see that it is a priceless and cherished possession of an old wizarding house. I simply cannot accept it, and you mum would at least miss it, I reckon."

She was treated to the Malfoy signature smirk, and was suddenly very glad that she had never had the pleasure of facing his father during the Battle of Hogwarts. Although Mr. Malfoy was out of Azkaban, he was under house arrest and not really capable of disturbing anyone's life any more. She was more than grateful; she had had more than a couple of nightmares from the stories she had wheedled out of Hermione about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's base of operations.

This struck a strange thought: would she have to _live_ there if. . .?

She fervently quashed where that thought was going because it was incredibly too soon for that. And she had forgiven Malfoy, even Harry and Hermione seemed to have forgiven him. The Malfoy Manor be damned.

She would probably have to go there if. . .his parents. . ._Stop_, she told herself. _Stop getting ahead of yourself. You don't have to worry about any of this yet._

Ron suddenly appeared and started begging Hermione for help with his own shrivelfig essay, but Hermione only laughed and started teasing him, saying that someone who thinks they can speak Parseltongue should be able to slither their way out of the Head of Slytherin's essay quite easily. Erin smiled; Hermione's attitude had definitely taken a turn for the better after the war and after retrieving her parents from Australia.

"No one cares about old wizarding houses," Malfoy told her impatiently, ripping her attention away. "I mean look at Weasley over there, he can't even write a decent shrivelfig essay."

He'd raised his voice a bit, and this made the four behind them fall silent. "Malfoy," Hermione began, her voice a bit shocked.

"Oh get on, you big git," Ron grumbled. "What a load of rubbish. And my essay will be just as good as yours."

"I still care about old wizarding houses," Blaise said lazily.

"Oh shut it, Blaise," Hermione said. "Malfoy, I'm impressed."

"Yeah, yeah," Ron growled. "But seriously, Parseltongue aside, I am no match for Slughorn, please—"

"I agree with Hermione, Malfoy," Erin told him, ignoring Ron's further begging. "I'm impressed."

"Since when can you speak Parseltongue?" they heard Blaise interrupt, and Erin stifled a grin.

"I had a good teacher," Malfoy shrugged. "Anyway, I want you to have it. And Mum gave it to me a while ago, she told me to bequeath it wisely."

In Erin's mind that sounded like Narcissa Malfoy had said something along the lines of, "Chose wisely when you decide to use this with your marriage proposal," but decided to ignore her inner Lady Malfoy. "Um," she cleared her throat. "Why does it have four pomegranate seeds entwined with a snake?"

He also cleared his throat and then said in a completely emotionless voice, "When my great-great-great-great-grandfather met Persephone, he was completely taken. She was from another one of those ancient families, Crouch clan, I think. He had the necklace made and convinced her to give him a chance over the course of a week. Apparently he kidnapped her at the end of the week and gave it to her. She was touched and her family made sure that they got married."

"Cliché, but cute," Erin muttered. "Did she love him?"

"I mean, I reckon it was a gradual process. My father told me that she was a bit reluctant at first, but over time she came to genuinely love him. Especially because they only lived at Malfoy Manor four months out of the year; the rest of the time they traveled or visited her family."

"You are joking," Erin smiled. "You have to be."

Malfoy shrugged. "Father told me the story and the moral was that Malfoys always get what they want."

"What a bloody brill moral," Erin muttered.

"I think I may have told you that before, love." Now he was perched on the desk and he leaned in close. She couldn't help but notice his cologne, and she melted a little inside. She'd noticed it in the bathroom right after he had received an owl two days before. She suddenly felt a bit like a stalker and almost giggled. "Malfoys always get what they want."

"I don't doubt that," she said faintly. "But I do doubt Malfoys knowing what they want."

"That might be true," he mused. "But I am sure this time."

The molten look was back in his eyes. "I don't doubt _that_, Draco," she murmured, taking a deep breath, surprising herself with how calmly she was taking this situation. "But that doesn't change the fact that I cannot keep this necklace."

He looked a bit taken aback, and then told her quite sternly, "If you don't doubt what I want, then you should keep the necklace."

"The story was beautiful, although the arrogance at the end was a bit annoying, but after hearing it, I still don't feel like it would be right if I kept it. Were you trying to change my mind?"

"Possibly." He leaned in closer and whispered, "Did it work?"

"It might if I don't move away from you," she exhaled. "Did your mum pick out the cologne?"

"No, Pansy did," he smirked. "I thought I saw you sighing in ecstasy yesterday morning."

So he had seen her open the bottle. She shoved him. "Oh, come off it," she grumbled. "You are such an arse."

"At least you love my—"

"Leave Erin alone, Malfoy," Hermione said good-naturedly, bustling over to grab the Head Boy. "We are going to get ready for the Feast. You lot are going to leave."

"I am not going anywhere with the ferret," Ron said loudly.

"If you are going there, we're cousins, Weasel," Malfoy smirked. "Don't treat family so harshly."

"Leave," Marisa told Blaise, pointing at the portrait hole.

"Alright," he said, getting up and stretching. "You'll warm up to me at the Feast."

"Did he just—" Erin asked flabbergasted as the girl reading her book swung shut behind the nonchalant Slytherin.

Hermione was now shoving a protesting Ron out behind Blaise, so she hadn't seen him kiss Marisa on the cheek.

Malfoy took this opportunity to lean back in and say softly, "Wait until my speech at the feast. You'll see why I want you to have it. Wear it."

She turned away, and stared at the box for a moment before nodding minutely. She stayed frozen for a few minutes, at least until there was silence, and then looked up. "Draco left right?" she asked nervously.

"I'm so proud that you learned his first name," Marisa sneered.

"Just tell me if he left," she said, exasperated.

"Yeah."

"What was that with—"

"I'll just go let in the others, shall I," Hermione chipped in.

"Best idea ever, all of us getting ready here!" Erin told her, flashing the Gryffindor a grin.

"Uh huh. Best idea ever," Marisa muttered.

"Just let yourself back in," Erin told Hermione, before rounding on her sister. "Marisa, he kissed you!"

Marisa looked a bit red. "The smarmy git," she growled.

"I told you in fourth year—"

"Maybe he just wanted to annoy me, I don't know!"

"He clearly—"

"What about Daphne Greengrass, sixth—"

"Minor setback, you—"

"I am not!"

"And you spend all sorts of time together, it only stands to reason! If I had to admit to liking Draco Malfoy, then you should at least admit to—"

Then Ginny, Sophie, Hermione, Cat, Jin, Natalie, Katya, and Luna trooped into the common room in an onslaught of laughter and babble, carrying costumes, board games, and a wizarding radio. Erin let the subject of Blaise Zabini slide, and they were soon happily playing Scattegories and listening to the Weird Sisters. McGonagall thankfully didn't do detentions on weekends, so the twins were scot-free for now, and they had a couple hours to spare before they actually had to go to the feast.

A/N: This chapter just kind of ran away from me. I couldn't stop writing, so you got like an extra four-ish pages. Dear Draco Malfoy. Why aren't you real?


	15. The Condolences and Pomegranate Seeds

A/N: And the contest is still on! Please review and tell me which character is based on my roommate! The winner will get a one-shot as detailed in the A/N of Chapter 14 XD Good luck!

I saw Eclipse a couple nights ago, and I am not a huge Twilight fangirl for a number of reasons, but Eclipse was actually fantastic. Seriously. I disliked Twilight and New Moon was definitely better but Eclipse blew them out of the water.

I also saw the trailer for Deathly Hallows on the big screen. . .all I gotta say for now is yikes. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. XD

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 15**

**The Condolences and the Pomegranate Seeds**

"So, what do you think?" Erin asked Marisa as the two waited for the other girls to get ready.

"Looks good," she shrugged, adjusting her tiara slightly and then grimacing.

"You really think I should wear this?" Erin said uncomfortably, fingering the necklace Malfoy had given her.

"Yes."

She thought back to the conversation she had had with Draco and shivered. She still wasn't sure she wanted a Malfoy heirloom in her possession. Especially one with such a strange history. If the story he had told her had been designed to make her feel better, he hadn't done a very good job of it.

She was just as annoyed now as she had been then. "He doesn't make sense," she told Marisa.

"Who told you men are supposed to make sense?" came a new voice, and they whipped around.

Professor Vector was standing in the portrait hole, surveying the chaos. "Oh, Professor," Erin said smoothly. "I'm sorry you had to hear our little teenager-ish complaints."

"Complaints about men do not end with the teenager years, dear," the woman told her gently. "But I did notice that there are several men waiting for you ladies outside. The Headmistress sent me to make sure that all is ready in the Great Hall."

"Yes, Professor, Draco and I made sure that everything was ready yesterday."

"Very well," she smiled. "I think you should be going then."

"We'll be right along," Erin said cheerfully, yelling up the stairs for Hermione and Sophie to come down. "Oh, and Professor. . ."

Professor Vector turned back to survey her with keen eyes. "Yes, dear?"

"I am so very sorry about Professor Snape," she said softly. "He was blessed to have someone like you in his life."

"Thank you, Erin," Professor Vector said, a kind smile belaying the brief flash of sorrow in her gaze. "That was very kind of you. Have fun with Draco at the Feast, and don't be too hard on him, he means well."

"What was that all about?" Marisa asked when the portrait had swung shut behind the professor.

"Vector and Snape," she told her. "Can you imagine? How did I miss that?"

"Ready!" Sophie shrieked, tumbling down from the bathroom. "Let's go, I want to see Seamus's costume."

A/N: A little short, and so is the next one, but the last chapter will be satisfyingly long, I promise XD


	16. The Nostalgia and Glimpse Behind Scenes

A/N:And there still isn't a winner. Which character is based off my roommate? Guess, guess, guess!

This is the end of the last hiatus. The last chapter will be up ASAP!

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 16**

**The Nostalgia and the Glimpse Behind the Scenes**

While the other girls seemed excited to push through the portrait-hole, Erin hung back. Hermione squeezed her hand on the way past, and whispered, "I have a good feeling about this. Don't worry, Erin. McGonagall wouldn't have picked him otherwise, I promise."

She smiled faintly back at the girl who would easily overwhelm her with awe if she wasn't sensible enough to put the past behind them. Where had Hermione been, at this time last year? Somewhere in the English countryside, trying to stay hidden from the world so that she could work out the meaning behind Dumbledore's bequeathed book and track down the keys to the Dark Lord's fall. Sometimes it still stunned her, what Hermione had been through. Erin had been through a lot, and dealt with a lot, so she understood how Hermione felt, but sometimes it was hard to fathom that so many things could go wrong for one person in one lifetime. . .

Let alone to two, or three people in one lifetime, if Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were considered.

Then her heart twisted painfully as this thought inevitably brought back the scenes at the end of war—Snape, dead; students she had known, like Colin Creevy, dead; Lupin, dead beside his wife, an Auror with pink hair she had not known, leaving behind a child, a child who was now Harry's godson, because those who do not heed the past repeat it, because the Dark Lord had shattered many lives, not just those belonging to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

She was startled out of her reverie—Hermione had told her that Harry's parents had died, seventeen years ago, on this night, and that was something else that had popped into her head—by Marisa saying impatiently, "Stop staring, ink-arm. You look like a troll with your mouth open like that."

Grinning, she shook off the brief feeling of melancholic nostalgia and stepped through herself, noting in passing that Blaise looked stunning and stunned by Marisa, and that Sophie and Seamus were beaming at each other and trading subtle comments adorably.

"Benzene," she heard him before she saw him and spun around, not exactly sure what she should be expecting.

He was bowing slightly, looking very pale and handsome in a dark suit and cloak. She was impressed in spite of herself and smiled. "Shall we?" she asked.

He straightened and offered his arm very properly. She had to stifle a giggle. "To imagine that you were such a prat only a few years ago," she marveled.

"I take offense to prat, I would prefer git," he told her gravely. "And I'm still a git, that isn't something you grow out of."

The group trouped on down to the Great Hall, where Erin drew away from Malfoy briefly to consult make-up with Ginny and Luna as they waited for their dates. Blaise was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Luna, but Marisa had disappeared somehow. She was determinedly ignoring Draco Malfoy so completely (she wasn't going to look for him until she was ready to actually go into the Great Hall) that she didn't even notice the rather unexpected conversation that was taking place somewhere behind her.

"Listen, Malfoy, don't screw this up alright," Marisa whispered to the pale boy as they lurked in the shadows by the entrance of the Great Hall. "You won't have a better chance than this."

"Thanks," he said drily. "I hope you're right about this working."

She grinned so widely, she looked like a vampire. "I am positive. I can't believe I'm saying this, but good luck."

"Luck," he snorted. "'In my experience, there is no such thing as luck.'"

"Stop watching Muggle movies," Marisa advised. "They make you annoyingly cosmopolitan."

"Cosmopolitan?" Draco smirked. "Did you just use a 'big word'?"

"Of course not," Marisa said loftily.

"Why are you doing this, Marisa?" he asked impulsively.

"So you can say my name, but not hers? Nice," Marisa mused. "Honestly, she needs a guy not to screw her over for once. And you're the only one I approve of. Be grateful." And she vanished back into the crowd, somehow managing to pop up next to Blaise undetected.

Draco took a deep breath, and skirted the crowds so that he could exit. Erin was waiting with Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Dean Thomas. "Shall we?" he asked pleasantly.

A/N: One more chapter! Almost there! So much sap in the next chapter. . .lol.


	17. The Speech and Winner Takes All

A/N: And the winner is. . .there is no winner! Guys! No one got it :( But if you want to take a parting shot at it in your final review, this might change XD

This has been a fun ride, but it is coming to an end. Everyone keep your arms and legs inside the car until it comes to a complete stop. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your stay at Fan Fiction Dot Net!

Disclaimer: If I owned HP I would produce AVPM on Broadway.

**The Seventh Year**

**Chapter 17**

**The Speech and the Winner Takes All**

"Before I begin the games and music," McGonagall announced after everyone had eaten, "our Heads would like to say a few words."

There was much enthusiastic clapping and whistling, and Erin heard Harry Potter shout "Go E-Money!" across the crowd. She rolled her eyes. He should have come back full-time this year so he didn't spend so much time in the Muggle world picking up stupid slang words. She stood up, said a few things about house unity, cracked a few jokes, mentioned how blessed they all were to be sitting there, and told everyone that she thought the school year was going to go splendidly, no, smashingly. Then she sat down amidst laughter and more applause.

Then Draco Malfoy stood up. He squeezed her hand before he did, which she found odd, but decided to ignore it and just listen.

"I don't have much to say," he cleared his throat. "But I would like to tell one story, because traditionally the Head's costumes are to symbolize a facet of reality."

He did a few cool tricks with fire magic, telling them of Hades, Lord of the Dead, and how he ruled with an iron fist, defying all the other gods. Then, "But for all his power and arrogance, Hades was lonely. One day he saw a beautiful maiden above him, and he commanded the ground to swallow her and a chariot to bring her to him, for he greatly desired the company of that maiden, whose name was Persephone."

Erin began to fidget nervously with her necklace.

"Persephone was miserable because she did not share any of the god's beliefs and wanted to live in the sunshine with flowers and good, lively people instead of the cruel, dark world that Hades had always lived in, without choice. Demeter, her mother, sorrowed, and the world fell into shadow without her guidance. The other gods tried to persuade Hades to relent but he would not. He begged her to eat, to drink, to sleep, to be happy, but she would not be persuaded. Finally, she ate four pomegranate seeds, and they tied her to his world.

"Zeus decreed that Persephone must stay with Hades as his queen for four months out of the year, and she could spend the rest of her time above ground."

Draco cleared his throat again. "What I have learned from this story is that love can change the hardest of hearts. Because of Persephone, Hades became a more forgiving ruler, and came to realize through her guidance that not everything is cut black and white. He learned to appreciate the simple things in life, and to discover why all beings, not just gods, were important. All beings share in life and take joys and sorrows in the same things. They are all equal."

The Hall was dead silent. Erin was holding her breath. Draco wasn't talking about Hades anymore.

"Persephone came to care for Hades," Draco said, but his voice was more confident than his expression, "when she realized that he had changed, that he was not as narrow-minded. And although she was bound four months out of the year to stay with the Lord of the Dead, she did not mind spending time with him.

"Persephone changed Hades, and some part of the world with her kindness. The Lord of the Dead cherished her forever because of this, and he forever longed for her to stay with him always, and not for just the sake of the pomegranate seeds.

"But the story ends there," Draco told his audience steadily. "We can only hope that one day Persephone relented and gave her heart completely to so bitter and broken a god so that one day he would be healed."

There was a long silence in the Hall, before Draco finished. "We have much to learn from this story. We must learn to be accepting of those who are not like us, and let others guide us when we cannot guide ourselves. We must let ourselves care for others, so that they might care for us. And that is how we will finally heal our broken world."

He sat down. Harry Potter rose from his seat in the ensuing silence and Draco hurriedly stood back up to shake his hand as the Hall exploded into cheers. Erin just sat there in shock as Draco said to Harry, "There's something I've wanted to say to you for a long time. There was a night on the Astronomy tower not two years ago when a great man gave me a choice between what I knew was wrong and what everyone else thought was right. I didn't make the choice. I didn't know how."

"Snape was supposed to kill Dumbledore," Harry said steadily. "We both know that."

"Yes, but I wanted to say that I am sorry for being such a git and not being able to make that choice. And that I made it finally, at the end of last year. You know that, right?"

"Of course I know that, mate," Harry said, and Erin looked away because the sorrow that was radiating off the two boys was too strong. They'd both lost too much in the war. "Apology accepted."

A few minutes later Erin finally worked up the courage to say something to him. "Did you mean it?" she asked, craning her neck to look at his face. They were away from the tables and milling around with other students, waiting to take a shot at the boggart Sinistra had captured as part of the evening's entertainment. "The mythology story. Did you mean it?"

Draco stared unseeing over the crowd for a moment. "Yes," he said, adjusting his hold on her waist. She had felt like she was glowing when he had steered her away from their places at the head table. "Every word."

She took a deep breath, admiring the way his eyes caught the moonlight and shone like molten mercury. "Well then I know the end of the story."

He actually looked surprised. "The end of the story?"

"Yes," she grinned, mischief flickering in her bright eyes. "Persephone was not bound by the pomegranate seeds during the other seven months, and she stayed with Hades anyway. Because she cared for him, and he had changed."

"Good," Draco murmured, bending down so that his forehead was pressed against hers. "That makes things a lot easier."

The kiss was soft and quick, and they paused for a minute, eyes closed, breathing in and out, trying to see if they could put any words together that would make sense.

"Amortentia," Draco said suddenly.

Erin laughed, her head tilting against his hand that was clasped around her neck. "What?"

"Peppermint. Lavender. And Japanese Cherry Blossom."

She kept laughing, because the last two scents were hers, and he moved to kiss her again, and this time they melted together, fierce and proud. After a minute or two they broke apart due to the several cat-calls and whistles that they had managed to register as coming from some of the nearby students.

"Want to meet my parents?" he asked.

She made a face. "I've heard Titans like to eat their children."

He began to laugh then, and she realized that she had never seen him genuinely laugh before. It changed him. He was happier. And she liked it. She would have to make him laugh more often. "They won't eat you if you're with me."

"So I'll have to make it official, I suppose," Erin sighed. "Fine. I'll have to introduce my _boyfriend_ to my parents too, you know. And my father's a Muggle. Aren't you afraid of Muggles?"

"Can't be worse than an angry Demeter," Draco said straight-faced.

Marisa sprang out from behind them and grabbed at Erin. "So. You two are dating."

"Yes," she blushed. "Shut up, ok?"

Marisa got a dangerous, triumphant gleam in her eye. "Nope," she said, grinning her vampire grin. She dragged a protesting Blaise to a table and then stood on it. "Listen up, losers!" she shouted.

"Oh no," Erin groaned.

"October 31," Marisa announced, to the slowly quieting hall. "Ten Galleons. Erin Benzene and Draco Malfoy becoming a couple. Who witnessed?"

"I did," Blaise said grudgingly.

"So did I," Sophie grumbled.

"Game!" Marisa gloated. "I win!"

"Do you want your kiss now or later?" Blaise asked, looking bored.

Marisa glared at him. "Shut up."

"Impressive," Erin nodded at her sister with a wickedly suggestive smirk on her face. "So _that's_ how all this started."

Blaise climbed up onto the table with a smirk that matched Erin's adorning his features and swept Marisa into his arms. "I'm a man of my word, I always pay up."

And he bent her back into a very theatrical kiss that looked like it could have been a scene from the movie _Troy_.

"You have got to be kidding me," Erin breathed.

Draco just shrugged. "He's always been the Slytherin Drama Queen."

Erin gave him a look. "Then what does that make you?"

He gave her his most perfect Malfoy smirk and wrapped his arm around her waist. "The Slytherin Sex God."

"Whoa, cowboy, there will be none of that," Erin pushed him away.

Marisa straightened up and somehow managed to retain her look of smug satisfaction. "Alright, everyone, pay up! Let's start with you, Boot, you owe me seven—"

A whole crowd of people surged towards the second Benzene, grumbling and digging in their pockets for change while the rest of the students began clapping again.

"Well, that was interesting," Erin muttered. "I can't believe she won all that."

"I can't believe Benz-Deux actually fell for that," Draco said.

"Must have wanted to," Erin shrugged. "Come on, I have to ask her."

Erin struggled through the crowd and finally clambering to the top of the table, shoving the still-smirking Blaise to the ground and into Draco, who started laughing again. "Are you happy?" she asked. "I won you your bet. And Blaise—"

"Not talking about it," Marisa declared.

"Alright," Erin grinned. "But we got what we wanted, didn't we?"

"Hell yeah," Marisa grinned back.

And they high-fived, laughing so manically that people stepped back, worried that something terrible was going to happen.

But McGonagall just smiled, even though she normally would have given the two detentions for their antics. Hermione Granger caught her eye from across the hall where she was standing with Ron, Harry, and Ginny and smiled at her, which simply reaffirmed what she had known all along. She had made the perfect choice for Heads. Hogwarts was healing from the war, under their guidance. She knew the entire wizarding world would be quick to follow.

Erin and Marisa turned and gave the Headmistress a double thumbs up, like they knew she wanted to punish them but wouldn't. Minerva smiled at their joy, and the hope that they had brought back to the war-torn school. For her oldest, most affected students, this promised to be a much deserved perfect seventh year.

A/N: Thanks again everyone! This was a lot of fun XD Don't forget to leave your parting shot at my contest in your review.

Until next time,

Conterra


End file.
